BÖNNIGHEIM, Germany — July 17, 2017 — With their idea of breathing new life into worn-out truck tarpaulins and making them into weatherproof, one-of-a-kind bags for individualists in the big city jungle, the graphic designers, Daniel and Markus Freitag, truly reflected the spirit of the times in 1993 and have written an impressive success story since then. In this interview, they talk about why they have both also been supplying textile products since 2014 and what Hohenstein exactly does with these fabrics.

How do bag manufacturers come up with the idea of producing textiles?

Actually, for the same reason why we started producing messenger bags from truck tarpaulins — our own requirements. In 1993, there were no appropriate bags for us to transport our designs on a bicycle, keeping them safe and dry. So, we spontaneously made some ourselves. Robust, long-lasting and sustainable. Can used items be utilized purposefully in a different context? What does a product need to look like, so that it doesn’t leave anything harmful at the end of its lifecycle? We have always been dealing with such questions. And when we were searching for new workwear for our employees and understood how the global textile industry handles resources, the environment and its workers in some cases, it quickly became clear that we would prefer to take the matter of clothing into our own hands.

What does ideal clothing look like for you?

We asked ourselves: It must also be possible without wasting resources, endless transport routes and excessive use of chemicals? The textiles should be manufactured at fair conditions nearby and be suitable for wearing in the factory, as well as for having a beer after work. Once they have been worn out, it should be possible to throw them on the compost, where they can biodegrade without any residues, with a clear conscience.

How were you able to reduce these high demands to a single common denominator?

In order to meet these requirements, we went back to the beginning of the natural development chain: to the fiber. To be able to guarantee the biodegradability of our textiles, once they have been worn out, we searched for natural and renewable resources, which are available in our latitudes. So, the choice fell on the cultivated plants, linen and hemp, which thrive magnificently along the Atlantic coast, do not require much water and fertilizers and textile fibers have already been gained from their raffia for a long time. For lighter fabrics, Modal is also used — this is obtained from local beech trees in Austria. In Lombardy, we found a weaving mill, which is able to produce our trouser fabric according to our own ideas, and our garments are ready-made in Poland. Overall, it took five years from the original idea until we were able to deliver the first completed garments — including a strict test of the shirts and trousers in our own factory and numerous self-wearing tests.

In which way did Hohenstein help you with the product development?

During the development of F-ABRIC, we conducted our own composting tests on our factory roof garden. When it then came to the product launch, we searched for an institution, which could competently and independently provide evidence that our textiles are 100-percent biodegradable after unscrewing the metal buttons and the soil is
not polluted with harmful substances after their decomposition. The experts of the Hohenstein Group offered a customized tool for our requirements, with its standardized soil-burying tests to determine the biodegradation.

And how long do your textiles need until they decompose into soil again?

The tests in Hohenstein concluded that our textiles are almost completely decomposed after six months. They passed the eco-toxicological tests that were conducted. As
our products are made of natural fibers, the Hohenstein experts recommended a soil- burying test to us under open land conditions. Burying in a laboratory would also have been conceivable, but it was important to us for the natural climate change over half a year to flow into the investigations.

Are you satisfied with the test result?

Yes, as we worked towards completely degradable and non-harmful textiles right from the start, we naturally also anticipated this good result. But we did not think that the decomposition process would be so quick. So far, there has not been any recognized international standard for the degradability of textiles, therefore, the biodegradation tests in Hohenstein can be an important instrument for textile companies, when it comes to scrutinizing the last step of the product cycle.

Posted July 17, 2017

Source: Hohenstein Group

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — July 14, 2017 — Ames Linen Service, Cortland, N.Y., has achieved Hygienically Clean (HC) Healthcare certification for the second time, reflecting its commitment to best management practices (BMPs) in laundering as verified by on-site inspection and their capability to produce hygienically clean textiles as quantified by ongoing microbial testing. Ames’ facility received the certification initially in 2014, one of the first dozen laundries across North America to earn the designation.

Recertification confirms the organization’s continuing dedication to infection prevention, compliance with recognized industry standards and processing healthcare textiles using BMPs as described in its quality assurance documentation, a focal point for Hygienically Clean inspectors’ evaluation. The independent, third-party inspection must also confirm essential evidence that:

• Employees are properly trained and protected;
• Managers understand regulatory requirements;
• OSHA-compliant; and
• Physical plant operates effectively.

Certified facilities pass three rounds of outcome-based microbial testing, indicating that their processes are producing Hygienically Clean Healthcare textiles and zero presence of yeast, mold and harmful bacteria. To maintain their certification, laundry plants must pass quarterly testing to ensure that as laundry conditions change, such as water quality, textile fabric composition and wash chemistry, laundered product quality is consistently maintained.

This process eliminates subjectivity by focusing on outcomes and results that verify textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and BMPs for hospitals, surgery centers, medical offices, nursing homes and other medical facilities.

Hygienically Clean Healthcare certification acknowledges laundries’ effectiveness in protecting healthcare operations through testing and inspections that scrutinize quality control procedures in textile services operations related to the handling of textiles containing blood and other potentially infectious materials.

Certified laundries use processes, chemicals and BMPs acknowledged by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, American National Standards Institute and others. Hygienically Clean Healthcare brought to North America the international cleanliness standards for healthcare linens and garments used worldwide by the Certification Association for Professional Textile Services and the European Committee for Standardization.

Objective experts in epidemiology, infection control, nursing and other healthcare professions work with Hygienically Clean launderers to ensure the certification continues to enforce the highest standards for producing clean healthcare textiles.

“Congratulations to Ames Linen on their recertification,” said Joseph Ricci, TRSA president and CEO. “This achievement proves their ongoing commitment to infection prevention and that their laundry facilities take every step possible to prevent human illness.”

Posted July 14, 2017

Source: TRSA

ANDOVER, Mass. — July 12, 2017 — Polartec will exhibit at Agenda, the lifestyle fashion trade show, in Long Beach, Calif., July 13-15, 2017.

Polartec creates a full range of performance fabric solutions for the world’s leading apparel brands. These fabric technologies enable new apparel design and change the way people dress for activity and everyday life.

Recognizing that modern consumers demand apparel that doesn’t restrict options due to performance limitations or aesthetics, Polartec creates and innovates performance textiles that enable a versatile lifestyle. These concepts include breathable insulation that self regulates, constructions that put tech on the inside with a casual aesthetic on the outside, technologies that perform across a broad range of weather conditions, and the use of recycled, natural and durable materials that do more with less, and last longer.

“Agenda offers Polartec the opportunity to connect with a broad range of brand customers, along with the added benefit of a day that is open to the general public,” says Polartec CEO Gary Smith. “The show and its format are congruent with where Polartec’s business has grown.”

Come see the technology behind pinnacle pieces from Polartec customers like Adidas, Arc’teryx, Mission Workshop, Nike, Palace, Patagonia, Reigning Champ, Supreme, and the U.S. Military.

For those attending, please visit the booth (A20), and see Polartec CEO Gary Smith speak on Conscious Consumption and Sustainable Manufacturing Friday, July 14 at 3:00pm as part of the Agenda Workshop.

Posted July 12, 2017

Source: Polartec

BÖNNIGHEIM, Germany — July 12, 2017 — Between 10 and 15 percent of the population are allergic to dust mites, asthma is one of
the most common illnesses in the world — and the number of people affected is rising year after year. Millions of Germans are familiar with year-round runny noses in the mornings, sneezing attacks, itchy eyes and severe reactions that may include shortage of breath. The symptoms often have a very detrimental effect on their everyday lives, so taking preventive measures is important, from the point of view of both the economy and healthcare policy. For allergy sufferers, the most important preventive measure they can take is to keep allergens away from their respiratory organs — especially in the bedroom.

One of the main areas of work at the Hohenstein Group’s William Küster Institute for Hygiene, Environment and Medicine (WKI) is researching the compatibility of textiles for users, and this includes the management of allergens. That is why Hohenstein spotted the potential of textile-based allergy prevention at an early stage and worked closely with the industry to find a solution: over months of fundamental research, and multiple optimization stages, Hohenstein developed a negatively-charged textile finish which attracts the positively-charged allergens like a magnet.

Now, in partnership with the Stuttgart-based bedding manufacturer Centa-Star, Hohenstein has turned this textile finish into a marketable product: AllergoProtect — a trio of products consisting of mattress topper, duvet and pillow, which retain over 99.5-percent of the allergens inside the filling and the cover, even under great mechanical strain,
for example when the bedding is shaken. This means the allergens are not breathed
 in and no longer cause allergic reactions. During washing, the allergens bound to the fibers are removed from the filling of the bedding, and the physical binding function of the textile is regenerated — and remains fully effective even after 10 washes at 60°C
 in a domestic washing machine using heavyduty detergent followed by tumble drying. Hohenstein also helps with market positioning, thanks to its quality label and regular quality control of the materials that are used. AllergoProtect is certified under the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX Class I — the Standard 100 product class that has the strictest specifications for human ecology.

The endurance testing for AllergoProtect was carried out by the European Centre 
for Allergy Research Foundation and it has been awarded the ECARF Seal of Quality. In trials with volunteers, the effectiveness of AllergoProtect was impressively demonstrated. Now AllergoProtect is protected by a registered patent and after just a short time is already in great demand in the retail business. So AllergoProtect is just one more example of the success that proves the Hohenstein Institute to be a reliable research partner for industry.

Three questions for Dr. Hammer, from Hohenstein, and Thomas Müller, from Centa- Star:

How did the idea come about of using a special textile finish to bind the allergens to the bedding so that allergy sufferers are protected from them?

Dr. Hammer, Hohenstein: The idea was the result of looking at an entirely different question: at the WKI we had been closely studying the question of how odor molecules (such as sweat odor) could be bound to fibers and how they could then be released from the fibers again. Precisely this binding of the molecules to the fibers is an effective way of keeping the odors away from your nose. So we hit upon the idea of applying the same principle to allergens.

Thomas Müller, Centa-Star: The researchers at the Hohenstein Institute found 
out that allergens have a positive charge. So we jointly came up with the idea of developing a product for allergy sufferers which would make use of the physical principle of magnetic attraction – instead of the heavy-duty encasings and biocides that had been used until then.

How did the partnership with Centa-Star come about?

Dr. Hammer, Hohenstein: Centa-Star and Hohenstein have been working
 together for a long time. So Centa-Star is a member of our Scientific Board, a committee made up of representatives from industry and associations which advises Hohenstein’s researchers on converting research results into industrial applications. After all, the best research results are of little use if they have no practical significance. Then when we were chatting, we decided to work together on this project.

What were the main challenges when you were developing AllergoProtect?

Thomas Müller, Centa-Star: The binding of the allergens needed to be very effective. But at the same time, the effect had to be reversible, because it had to be possible to remove the allergens by washing in the washing machine. And of course the materials that were used needed, themselves, to be skin-friendly and non-allergenic and proven in countless tests and trials with volunteers. At the end of this long process, the products were successfully awarded the Seal of Quality and certified under Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX. Last but not least, marketing this new product in an easily understandable way was also quite a challenge.

Posted July 13, 2017

Source: Hohenstein Group